When Anele Mnukwa was called up on stage during the AfricanX Trailrun to receive the Sanet Wentzel Spirit Award , he wound his way through the packed hall , along with teammate Francois Groenewald , to a standing ovation . His fellow runners had just heard his inspirational story of overcoming great adversity and running through the pain barrier to be there with them , participating in the three-day stage race that he had long dreamt of running . They stood to applaud his spirit and strength , and pay tribute to a running hero . Each year at AfricanX , the participating runners are invited to nominate one of their fellow runners ( or a team ) for the Sanet Wentzel Award , which was introduced in 2010 in memory
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of Sanet Wentzel of Oudtshoorn . She had run the first AfricanX in 2009 , and towards the end of that year , just one day after phoning her running partner to convince her they should enter the 2010 race , Sanet was tragically killed by a drunk driver while out training . The award honours runners who persevere in spite of adversity . |
Talent Spotted
Anele works as a petrol pump attendant in the small Western Cape town of Grabouw , just a few kilometres up the N2 highway from the AfricanX venue at Houw Hoek Inn . He started running in 2010 when his work manager noticed his running talent and asked Francois to try coach him , because he was doing well in spite of running long distances in overalls and boots . With proper running gear , Anele soon started making the podium at local Boland races , even winning a few .
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“ Some of his astonishing podiums came from the Bainskloof Ultra 63km , which he won by miles , and at the Matroosberg Skymarathon 36km , he managed two consecutive second places , just minutes behind AJ Calitz – all with no trail running experience or support gear ,” says Francois . “ He managed on a few |
occasions to be selected by Boland for national races in the 10 , 21 and 42km distances , and he boasts personal best times of 32 minutes for 10km , 1:11 for the half marathon and 2:32 in the marathon . He also ran 3:38 in the Two Oceans , and in his first attempt at Comrades , he managed to stay in the top 15 for 70km , but had to retire eventually . His lack of training due to long shifts caught up with him , unfortunately .”
AfricanX Surprise
Originally , the two running friends had no plans to run the AfricanX , but just two weeks before the race , Francois received a wonderful surprise . “ I ’ d had my heart set on running AfricanX with Anele since 2011 . Unfortunately , we had not been able to cover the entry fee , as Anele does not earn that much as a petrol attendant . However , I mentioned our situation to one of the event organisers the weekend of the Fedhealth XTERRA Grabouw , and to my surprise I received a phone call the very next day , inviting us to run in the colours of one of their sponsors , Big Box Containers . I was speechless … but with just two weeks left to train , Anele and I started that same day !”
This is where the drama started . On their first training run on the XTERRA run route around Eikenhof Dam , Anele fell and seriously injured his leg , gashing his whole shin open . The injury became infected , but he told Francois he was OK to continue , so they scheduled a second training run on that Friday . However , Anele didn ’ t show up , and later that day Francois found out that
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Images : Tobias Ginsberg & Jetline Action Photo |